Will Celtics Revisit Jaylen Brown Trade Down Road? Nick Wright Explains

Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown will get a reprieve from being in trade rumors for at least a little bit after signing his supermax contract extension.

But even though the Celtics can’t trade Brown for one year from the day he inked his new deal, FS1’s Nick Wright believes once that time is up, he will find himself in a familiar situation.

“For one year his name won’t be in trade talks because they’re not allowed to trade him for 12 months,” Wright said on “First Things First” on Tuesday. “And then, if the Celtics don’t win the title this year, do any of us think he’s not showing up in trade talks 12 months from today? I do.”

Brown is coming off the best season of his career, in which he netted 26.6 points per game while shooting 49.1% from the floor. But Wright sees Brown is the second tier of the NBA elites along with the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns, Bradley Beal, Zach LaVine, Bam Adebayo and Jrue Holiday, and thus not worthy of such a hefty financial investment.

“Jaylen Brown is going to take up about 30 to 35% of your cap over the life of this deal,” Wright said. “That’s what matters here, percent of cap, not raw dollars. I don’t think he’s quite good enough for that to work. I just don’t. … We all agree that Jaylen Brown is a really good player, but we all agree he’s not a top 10 player. I would guess he’ll never be a top 10 player. “

Brown could really cement his future in Boston if he and Tatum can lift the Celtics to an NBA title after knocking on the door the past two seasons. But Wright doesn’t see that coming to fruition, leading to Brown being back in trade rumors before his supermax contract even kicks in.

“I don’t think this Celtics team is going to win the title,” Wright said. “It would have been insane for them to be like, ‘We’re not offering you a contract.’ But I just don’t think he’s a long-term Celtic because I don’t think they’re going to win the title this year and I think then he shows right back up in trade rumors.”